Print

[userdk]

Many of us on this forum have very limited experience, or exposure to gasification outdoor wood furnaces. If you have a gasifier, please share your story with us. How long have you had it? Have you had any problems with it? How did you resolve those problems? If you were to give a word of advice to a new buyer, what would it be? How much maintenance does your furnace require? Do you have to burn dry wood? How dry? What do you burn? How long after start-up does it take for the gasification process to begin? How much ash do you get? How easy is it to remove? What brand do you have? How much wood do you burn? and etc.

[slimjim]

Oh boy, this should be a good one, I have run several gassers, WoodDoctor, Sequoyah Paradise, Empire, Portage and Main and very soon will be running 2 HeatMasters so as you can tell I have been around them a bit, I started with a WoodDoctor, Energy Converter they called it, what a great improvement over the conventional wood pigs, very clean visibly, enough to run without issue at several shows, at the time we were the only folks burning a wood boiler at any shows here in the northeast, they had some issues early on with solenoids sticking and burning out but then went to a Honeywell servo motor to open the draft and that issue disappeared, firebricks used as nozzles needed to be replaced every couple of years but this was an easy task, the biggest issue I saw with the line was that the manufacturers did not pay attention to the rotting out issue, there is lots of speculation about why they rotted out, I happen to think it was profit driven and they cheaped out on steel quality, had they addressed that issue early on they would more than likely still be around today with a top of the line unit!
  Sequoyah Paradise, for the first run of gassers, this was a great unit, huge firebox, not as clean, only phase 1 so we were shut off here in Maine very quickly from being able to buy or sell them but aside from electronics issues with the solenoid and that darn love controller they were pretty reliable and would burn what you threw in, I sincerely wish they had retested for the phase 2 standards.
  I do not want to make this long winded so I will reserve my comments on the others until some other folks have chimed in, my suggestion to all the manufacturers is to pay special attention to making your units last in the field, never mind the EPA test it can be overcome, build a simple, reliable,  long lasting unit!

[Roger2561]

Many of us on this forum have very limited experience, or exposure to gasification outdoor wood furnaces. If you have a gasifier, please share your story with us. How long have you had it? Have you had any problems with it? How did you resolve those problems? If you were to give a word of advice to a new buyer, what would it be? How much maintenance does your furnace require? Do you have to burn dry wood? How dry? What do you burn? How long after start-up does it take for the gasification process to begin? How much ash do you get? How easy is it to remove? What brand do you have? Rate your experience 1 to 10. and etc. etc. etc.

I have Central Boiler E-Classic 1400.  I'm heating my 1840's farmhouse and DHW with it.  I purchased it in the summer of 2011 and put it online in the fall of the same year.  The first year of operation was THE learning curve.  I thought I knew everything there was know about burning wood because we had wood stoves but these outdoor units are a different animal.  Plus, it would have helped if I had read the owners manual but that goes against being guy because we don't read them.     Anyway, from October 2011 through early January 2012 everything was running great until the fire kept going out.  It did this at the most inopportune time - getting ready to out to dinner with friends, church, heading for work, or at 1:30am in the morning in early January with 15 degrees temps showing on the outdoor thermometer.  That's when I decided to open the manual.  After a half hour reading I discovered that there are many air holes surrounding the lower portion of the firebox.  So, I go outdoors clear the firebox of the unburnt firewood, remove all dead coals and ash buildup and walla!, there they were all plugged with creosote.  I spent the following 3 hours poking, scraping and some cursing trying to get them open.  After I was satisfied that they were all clear I turned the unit on and felt for air flow.  To say it was at it's minimum is an understatement.  After a few minutes of cussing and cursing I went back to the manual to find that the primary air elbow in the rear needs to be serviced as well.  To the back of the OWB, remove the back panel, open the combustion box where the blower is located and removed the elbow only to find it was about 90% plugged with creosote.  I spent another hour and half cleaning that thing and the tube that allows air to get to the firebox.  Once it was clear I checked the air flow in the firebox and lo and behold I had strong air flow.  After reassembly I fired her up and she's been running great ever since.  I shut her down in the early spring for the summer.  As part of my maintenance, I spend about a half to three quarters of an hour every 2 or 3 weeks making sure the air holes are open and that the elbow is clear too.  That means removing any unburnt firewood from the firebox, remove all hot coals (I keep them aside in a metal bucket to assist in getting the coal bed re-established) poking all the primary air holes (you have to get your upper torso in the fire box to reach the holes at the far end - plus, if it's really cold outside, you won't be for long) to remove any creosote build up and perhaps remove the primary elbow to check for any creosote build up.  Once I'm satisfied that everything is clean again and have good air flow through the air holes, I toss in the hot coals I had set aside, toss a few pieces of kindling wood on top of that, toss any unburnt firewood on that and get the fire going again.  I aid that by leaving the reaction chamber door open for a few minutes to provide a super updraft.  That gets fire roaring in no time.  After the fire is going really good I shut the reaction chamber door, close the fire box door and after 15 to 20 seconds later, I close the by-pass door.  I'll check on it about 2 to 3 hours later to see how thing are going.  I believe CB has an upgrade kit available that instead of having the welded in place the primary air holes panel, they are removable (similar to the E-Classic 1450's), aiding in the cleaning of creosote buildup; lessening the time and effort.  I also believe they have an upgrade kit for the fusion chamber.  I will be looking into them with my CB dealer to see what he has to offer. 

My firewood it cut to 2 feet long and the pieces range from 4 to 8/10 inches in diameter.  I burn all hard wood; maple, oak, beech, some birch, an occasional elm log will be found in the pile but not too many, thankfully.  I try to stay about 2 to 3 years ahead of myself so the wood has plenty of time to season/dry.  The last time I checked the moisture content it read somewhere around 22%.  I try to keep it there.  The OWB seems to run very nice at that range for me.  Once I get the fire going and good bed of coals established, it doesn't take too long for the gasification process to happen.  I cannot quantify it for you because I have never timed it.  My best guess is 3 to 4 minutes depending the type of wood I put in it at that time.

As for any mechanical or electronic failures; I have none to report.  This is my 4th heating season with it and it has run flawlessly for me.  When I close her down for the summer at the end of April, I know I'll have to replace the fire door gasket.  I noticed a few weeks ago that I'm seeing a bit of liquid creosote leaking from around the door onto the ground.  I plan to take the time to inspect by-pass door gasket and reaction chamber gasket at the same time.  I'll change them if it needs to be done.  I have a spare circ, blower, solenoids, etc... on hand for the "just in case" scenario.  Sorry for the long story but I thought it was important to share my first year of operation experiences with those who are contemplating a purchase of a gasser.  Paying attention to detail and making sure the primary air holes clear of any obstructions are very important items to keep in the back of your mind.  Roger                 

[kommandokenny]

Roger....2 minutes for elbowing

Wow,, I'm definitely going back to propane,, if I have to buy a gasser.
Neighbour not happy with his gasser either
Less wood, but 6 - 8 hour burn times.
Not enough heat etc etc,
Probably was not thought out enough,, for his application.

Sounds like you got it under control,, but that's a lot of maintenance

[jrider]

I have only owned a gasifier, so by spending time on this forum, I think that was an advantage to me because I didn't have any owb habits ingrained in my brain.  I've burned wood in fireplaces and woodstoves for years though so it's not like I never burned wood before.

I purchased a P&M Optimizer 250 4 heating seasons ago and have nothing but praises for it.  It is recommended to clean it out every 1-2 weeks by many on here and I try to do that but sometimes life gets in the way and it goes more like 3-4 weeks.  When done weekly, I can do it in 20 minutes.  When I let it go 3-4 weeks, I need to set aside 40-45 minutes.  There are horizontal and vertical heat exchange tubes that need to be wire brushed.  The horizontal tubes run the length of the unit and are accessible from both ends - you can see through the unit from end to end.  They are easy to clean.  The vertical tubes can be difficult when not done weekly.  When it comes to cleaning ashes out of the burn box, I do it when they get much more than 3"-4" deep and that's not too often.  I have filled a 30 gallon metal trash can up about 4 times all winter. 

I've only had 2 small issues and they were both user issues not problems with the unit.  Once, while cleaning ashes, I clogged the nozzle with coals and air couldn't get through and the other problem was not knowing I had to take the box off that covers the blower and clean that once in a while - I discovered that problem during the 3rd burning season and it took about 30 minutes to figure out.  I now clean that 1-2 times a year and it takes about 15 minutes. 

I sell wood (aprox 100 cords a year) and what I burn is all the junk I can't sell - cut offs, big nasty knotty pieces, partially rotten, pine, and any sweet gum I come across that I don't feel like fighting with.  I have put all different size and shape wood in the unit and have never had a problem with it not burning well.  The wood is dry - probably all under 20% but I've never checked it and I do keep it covered.  I burn about 10 cords a year heating 3000 square feet to 74 during the day and 66 at night, firing the unit up in early Oct and shutting down late April.  If I were burning good solid oak, I would guess my usage would be around 5-6 cords per year.

This unit has not had 1 maintenance/electrical problem at all and I couldn't be happier with it.  At the time of purchase, it seemed to be at the top of $$ scale but I think I got what I paid for - a virtually flawless unit that's easy to run and something that I expect to get a lot of life out of. 

[Roger2561]

Roger....2 minutes for elbowing

Wow,, I'm definitely going back to propane,, if I have to buy a gasser.
Neighbour not happy with his gasser either

Sounds like you got it under control,, but that's a lot of maintenance

It really isn't all that much now that I have control of what needs to be done, plus I had no choice but purchase a gasser due to state regs.  Think about it; you're not willing to spend a half hour once every 2 to 3 weeks to make sure it's operating as it should?  Looking at the big picture, comparing to the amount of time it's heating my home and DHW...that's just a fraction of the time spent servicing it.  The rest of the time I'm inside staying nice toasty warm.  It's time I'm willing to make to be sure my investment runs at it's optimum.  And, as I stated, CB now makes all of their OWB's with the removable side panels, thus cutting down on the amount of time it takes to clear the holes.  And, with the new Firestar II controller they install on them, one can monitor how their OWB is operating from the comfort of your home without having to go outside, with a cold one in one hand and cigar in the other.  I have to ask what's your neighbor have for a gasser?  What's the condition of the wood?  Is it too large, too much moisture content?  Is he performing any maintenance at all?  The gassers require some forethought and one cannot use "green" wood in them at all.  It's like owning any equipment; if you want it to run at it's optimum, one needs to put some effort into maintenance.  I do that with my car (nearly 10 years old and running as good as the day I bought it), my JD tractor (2001), I spend on hour a month greasing the joints and pivot points and making sure the fluids are topped off.  I treat all of the implements I have for it and chainsaws, wood splitter, lawn mower, etc... the same way and none of it is new but all of it is running as good now as it did the day I purchased it.  Sorry for the rant and I don't mean to lecture, just stating some facts about the gassers.  Roger         

[Roger2561]

jrider - 

it appears most gassers operate roughly the same way.  They need some TLC at once every couple to 3 weeks and it really doesn't take that much time to maintain them.  Roger

[kommandokenny]

Sounds like all and all,,, you guys are happy with them.
I think I may of over re acted,, as I just throw wood in mine, once or twice a day and auger out the ashes every week.
Nice and toasty is definately worth a little maintenace though!!

 

[userdk]

Flue cleaning on newer models is much less of a pain than it used to be. The 2012 Heatmaster G-Series had a system of horizontal flues through the water jacket to wick the heat off the exhaust. In those flues there were some twisted pieces of steel somewhat like auger flighting to make the exhaust spiral as it exited, causing more surface area contact. The "auger flighting" had a hole in the end, accessable via access door, to which you could attach a crank handle. This system was a lot better than brushing would be, but still took a little time. In 2013, they introduced a new design, with vertical tubes up the back. The flighting inside the flues is connected to a lever via a rod across the top. Simply shake the lever forward and back to run the flighting up and down within the flues, cleaning out any creosote, ash, etc. that may have built up.

Picture below is of the sketch Heatmaster shows for the new model.

[Roger2561]

Has anyone out there experimented with wet wood? What happens? How wet? and etc.
Pardon all my questions, but the more questions, the more input.

I know on my E-Classic 1400 if I use any wood with more than 30% moisture content the creosote build up is terrible and the coal bed will eventually diminish to the point of being completely lost (don't ask how I know).  The CB manual says anything lower than 40% MC is okay but you'll have experiment with it to see what happens because I know if I have anything over 30% in my OWB the creosote build up is noticeable.  That being said, I cannot speak for other manufacturers perhaps they are bit more forgiving.  Roger         

[userdk]

Roger....2 minutes for elbowing

Wow,, I'm definitely going back to propane,, if I have to buy a gasser.
Neighbour not happy with his gasser either
Less wood, but 6 - 8 hour burn times.
Not enough heat etc etc,
Probably was not thought out enough,, for his application.

Sounds like you got it under control,, but that's a lot of maintenance

Burn time depends on furnace size, doesn't it?

[mlappin]

Flue cleaning on newer models is much less of a pain than it used to be. The 2012 Heatmaster G-Series had a system of horizontal flues through the water jacket to wick the heat off the exhaust. In those flues there were some twisted pieces of steel somewhat like auger flighting to make the exhaust spiral as it exited, causing more surface area contact. The "auger flighting" had a hole in the end, accessable via access door, to which you could attach a crank handle. This system was a lot better than brushing would be, but still took a little time. In 2013, they introduced a new design, with vertical tubes up the back. The flighting inside the flues is connected to a lever via a rod across the top. Simply shake the lever forward and back to run the flighting up and down within the flues, cleaning out any creosote, ash, etc. that may have built up.

Thats what I figured they had done, haven't actually seen one in person. Do they actually use flighting or are they actual turbolators? Do those ever need removed and cleaned?

[kommandokenny]

Roger....2 minutes for elbowing

Wow,, I'm definitely going back to propane,, if I have to buy a gasser.
Neighbour not happy with his gasser either
Less wood, but 6 - 8 hour burn times.
Not enough heat etc etc,
Probably was not thought out enough,, for his application.

Sounds like you got it under control,, but that's a lot of maintenance

Burn time depends on furnace size, doesn't it?

Yep,,, thats why I stated,,, it was not thought out

[slimjim]

Roger, someday we will get together and I'll show you some pictures!

[userdk]

Flue cleaning on newer models is much less of a pain than it used to be. The 2012 Heatmaster G-Series had a system of horizontal flues through the water jacket to wick the heat off the exhaust. In those flues there were some twisted pieces of steel somewhat like auger flighting to make the exhaust spiral as it exited, causing more surface area contact. The "auger flighting" had a hole in the end, accessable via access door, to which you could attach a crank handle. This system was a lot better than brushing would be, but still took a little time. In 2013, they introduced a new design, with vertical tubes up the back. The flighting inside the flues is connected to a lever via a rod across the top. Simply shake the lever forward and back to run the flighting up and down within the flues, cleaning out any creosote, ash, etc. that may have built up.

Thats what I figured they had done, haven't actually seen one in person. Do they actually use flighting or are they actual turbolators? Do those ever need removed and cleaned?

I don't know what they're actually called.